Abstract: A vending machine for vending computer software comprises, a bill acceptor for receiving money, an optical disk for storing a selection of programs to be vended, a hard disk drive for storing operating software, accounting information, and updates to the software vended, a diskette dispenser, and a disk drive all under control of a processor. The invention further comprises a device for indicating a program selection to the processor such that the processor may direct the writing of a customer-selected program to a diskette after money has been received.